Table of Contents

Intro

Group A - Bears vs Bulls

Group B - USA and Penguins

Group C - Desperate Gaming Fans

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Although the year is ending for the Dota 2 season there is still time to cram in one more tournament before entering it’s hibernation period around Christmas and New Year. True to the approaching holiday season The Summit enters it’s 8th edition and players can as always chill out around the house and just focus on playing some dotes within a more relaxed atmosphere. With 9 teams assembled and another 300 qualifying points thrown in as a prize let’s see who can earn themselves a nice and early Christmas gift.

Returning to the stage after their incredible run during The Summit 7 are Virtus.Pro, heading to Los Angeles as the top seed. However in contrast to their performance last time around this time they attend without their mastermind Solo. Another run with insane drafts and accompanying play like last iteration seems highly unlikely, not only due to their captain’s absence but also with the slump they have seemingly hit. A disappointing 5th/6th finish at Dreamleague was followed up by a top 4 in Macau against a vastly weaker field. Yes they also lacked Solo during MDL, but getting 2-0’ed by TnC still does not bode well for your prospects of retaining your top spot in the Dota 2 world. Being able to pick their first opponent, Sacred from South America, and in all likelihood roll over them should instill VP with some much needed confidence in the battle for the top spot of the Group with OG.

Speaking of OG, The Summit 8 is the place for them to keep their current momentum going. After a cold start into the Dota Pro Circuit with nothing going their way since the addition of Resolution, the recently concluded MDL Macau finally marked their return to relevance as they took home first place and with it their first much needed points for TI8.

Rounding out the trio of Group A are Sacred, formed out of the remnants of Digital Chaos.SA. While they managed to qualify over the likes of Infamous and SG Esports that is not necessarily the glowing recommendation you are looking for in a debut on the interregional stage. Just as SG and Infamous fizzled out when faced by the tougher competition outside South America, I do not expect Sacred to stand a chance in a group as tough as this one.

As already stated the battle between OG and VP will be the decider of this group’s top seed and due to Solo’s absence and OG’s recent return to form I give the edge to Fly & Co., should Sacred even win a single map I would be quite surprised.

Predictions:

1. OG
2. Virtus.Pro
3. Sacred


Melonzz from compLexity did say that North America is the strongest region, unfortunately for him the results so far have not really mirrored his sentiment at all. The Summit 8 could be the place for him to set the record straight. With 3 out of 9 attendees hailing from NA the preparations are set for them to deliver on that. compLexity has been on a steady path of improvement recently and with their captain’s words in mind we can be sure that they will be doubly motivated.

Vying for the top spot against them will be EG, coming off from a fresh bronze medal at the DreamLeague Major. Keeping that in mind it seems that EG has finally started to find their footing to return to their glory days of rosters past. At the start of the season they had been somewhat haphazard, far from the rock-solid consistency they had under the captainship of ppd. But if EG has finally found their stride, the starpower on their lineup is more than enough to frighten every other competitor. Being seeded on top of the group also means they were able to choose their opponents and they went for the third team in this group, Kinguin.

Kinguin’s run during the Perfect World Masters should still be in all our minds as they travel to their second interregional event. Can they step up to the promise they have shown in Shanghai and go just one step further to break into the Top 4 at a DPC tournament? They certainly will have the chance to not only that but also get some belated revenge against col, who eliminated them in China. This is the chance for them to get some more valuable experience before they head into the Wildcards at the upcoming Galaxy Battles Major in a month.

Towering above the others for this group is obviously EG and I don’t foresee them having trouble to secure a spot in the Semifinals. Who can make it into the guaranteed Wildcard slot is harder to call however. I would still favor compLexity here, but Kinguin is more than capable of taking them down.

Predictions:

1. EG
2. compLexity
3. Kinguin

The third seeded team at the Summit 8 is LGD Gaming and they arrive to Los Angeles with quite the heavy baggage. Although they have managed to qualify out of China for several tournaments (unlike their sister-team LFY), their performances have not been the best. A 2nd place at the PGL Open Bucharest is all they have to show for so far and for a team of their pedigree that is simply not enough. The Perfect World Master and MDL Macau have both ended disastrously for them as they were eliminated in the groupstages dead last twice in a row. However if LGD feel like having a chip on their shoulder before the beginning of the tournament, they are joined in their group by two teams with just as many woes.

For all the waves they created during their inception as the newest project by famed captain ppd, Optic Gaming have had close to no interregional success so far. Falling short of qualifying for most events and also their recent acquisition of permanent stand-in saksa for MiSeRy’s departure there was little to have confidence in so far. Even their second place finish at the ROG Masters seems like too little too late. Although we should not belittle the competition too much, the field at Kuala Lumpur was not the strongest and no-one would be faulted for saying that ROG Masters was their tournament to take. Foiled by Empire in a closely contested Bo5 finals, Optic Gaming are still looking for a major success to put them onto the leaderboards of the DPC.

Another team woefully lacking in points for TI8 is the third team in this group, Fnatic. Seemingly outmatched by Mineski and TnC for the majority of times in their home region, Fnatic rarely get to perform on interregional competition. Although they managed it for both majors of the season so far, their record has been absolutely abysmal. A combined map record of 2-10 throughout all DPC tournaments is certainly nothing to write home about. Even the addition of Abed instead of Excalibur has not proven that impactful yet.The Summit 8 is their last chance this year to catch a break and finally shake off all the ridicule that has been thrown at them so far.

With LGD’s disappointing performances at the last two tournaments I believe Optic should be able to handily make it into the Top4. Judging between LGD and Fnatic proved to be a bit more difficult but overall I would favor the chinese, just by virtue of them taking off maps of stronger opponents more consistently than Fnatic do it. Especially considering Fnatic’s track record at LAN finals so far, I unfortunately do not see an end to their trouble any time soon. Then again this group is probably the closest to call between the three and an upset or two should not surprise you too much.


Predictions:

1. Optic Gaming
2. LGD Gaming
3. Fnatic